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Volume 7, Issue 2 (072408)
Geoconservation Research (GCR)
https://doi.org/10.57647/gcr-2024-si-ev55
Martin C. Munt1
1Dinosaur Isle Museum. Culver Parade, Sandown, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom.
Corresponding Author’s E-mail: [email protected]
Received:
14-Aug-2024
Revised:
02-Oct-2024
Accepted:
05-Nov-2024
Published:
19-Nov-2024
© The Author(s) 2024
The Isle of Wight situated off the south coast of England is a special place for geolog- ical heritage. It is a microcosm of the geology of southern England, with a huge repu- tation as the home of British dinosaurs. Dinosaur Isle Museum has been the vehicle to take a small local collection to international recognition. This brief account focusing on the museum, explores the role of place in where geological museums are located. The Museum is located close to numerous internationally significant Early Cretaceous geological field localities. Whereas place is important, it is the role of fossils, dinosaurs in particular, in the local economy and culture which has been the sustaining factor for the museum, and therefore its continued role in geoconservation.
Keywords: Isle of Wight; Museum; Place; Geoconservation.
The Isle of Wight is located off the south coast of England opposite the coast of Hampshire from which it is separated by a narrow channel called the Solent. The panorama from the north coast of the Island embraces the eastern edge of the Juras- sic Coast World Heritage Site in Dorset, through the New Forest National Park, to the South Downs National Landscape in Sussex. The port cities of Portsmouth and Southampton provide major ac- cess to the island. Almost diamond-shaped, the Island covers approximately 380 km² with much of the landscape given over to mixed agriculture and forestry. The resident population is approx- imately 141,000 which doubles during the main tourist season from June to September. Besides its outstanding geology the Island is famous as the former home of Queen Victoria at Osborne House,
the poet Lord Tennyson at Freshwater, and the Isle of Wight Pop Festival which rivaled Woodstock. Perhaps less well known, it was also the home of the Reverand William Fox, who has more dino- saurs named after him than any other Englishman, a reflection of the importance of the Isle of Wight in the history of paleontology.
On the east coast of the Island facing Sandown seafront, the accredited Dinosaur Isle Museum is home to one of the most important regional geolo- gy collections in the country. Operated by the Isle of Wight Council Museums Service, it employs eight staff, including a curator, documentation officer, and preparator. While many UK museum services have lost their dedicated specialist geo- logical curators, Dinosaur Isle Museum has man- aged to hold onto its core team. Its collection and global significance continue to grow, riding the
wave of the new dinosaur renaissance and part of the Jurassic Park Generation whilst rooted to a 200-year pedigree. Despite constant uncertainty over its future, the museum continues to flour- ish, a combination of place, dinosaurs, a resilient adaptable workforce, money, audience focus, and even more new dinosaur discoveries.
on the east coast and Atherfield and Compton on the west are classic areas to study the Cretaceous marine transgression. Atherfield to Compton Bay is recognized as the richest dinosaur locality in Europe, while much of the north coast exposes the Solent Group which is unique in the British Isles. This is the source of mammal, turtle, and alligator bones along with a wealth of invertebrate and plant remains. Alum and Whitecliff bays are microcosms of the wider Paleogene sequences of southern En- gland. For recent summaries of the geology of the Isle of Wight, see Hopson and Farrant (2015), and Gale (2019) whilst White (1921) remains a treasure trove of detail.
Natural England has designated 41 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) on the Isle of Wight. Of these, 15 are wholly geological or include geolog- ical interests (see Table 1). To date, only two sites have been designated as RIGS (regionally import- ant geological sites). The low number of RIGS
Figure 1. View of Yaverland to Culver Cliff, Isle of Wight. At this accessible locality, visitors can follow the Cretaceous marine transgression, from the terrestrial Wessex Formation (Barremian, Wealden Group), through the lagoonal Vectis Formation (Barremian- Aptian, Wealden Group), to the shallow marine Lower and Upper Greensand groups (Aptian to Albian), into the deep marine Chalk Group (Cenomanian to Campanian).
Table 1. List of existing geoconservation designations on the Isle of Wight.
SSSIs (geological) | Other Designations |
Bembridge Down Bembridge School and cliffs Bonchurch landslips Bouldnor and Hamstead cliffs Brading marshes and Bembridge Ledges Colwell Bay Compton Chine to Steephill Cove Compton Down Headon Warren and West High Down King’s Quay shore Lacey’s Farm Quarry Priory Woods Prospect Quarry Thorness Bay Whitecliff Bay and Bembridge Ledges | RIGS Sandown Zoo (Wildheart Trust) to Yaverland. Sandown to Shanklin cliffs including Lake cliffs. Heritage Coast designations Hamstead Tennyson Marine Protected areas South Wight SAC Solent Maritime SAC Solent and Southampton Water SPA Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons SAC Solent and Dorset Coast SPA Bembridge MCZ Yarmouth to Cowes MCZ The Needles MCZ |
reflects the fact that so many sites are designated as SSSIs, but there is clearly an opportunity for further sites to be recognized. There are two Heri- tage Coast and seven marine protected areas (Ma- rine Conservation Zones, Special Protected Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation). Along with the Isle of Wight National Landscape, formerly known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) there are extensive legal protections in place covering most of the Isle of Wight’s coast and hinterland. Therefore, almost the entire coast of the Island and its geological heritage have some degree of protection. Added to these designations, the Coastal Management Plan and the 1949 Coast- al Protection Act should ensure the Isle’s coasts remain protected for future generations. Coastal land ownership on the Isle of Wight, like most oth- er parts of England, is mixed, with beaches mostly belonging to the Crown Estate, but the local au-
thority is also a major coastal landowner. Cliffs mostly belong to the landowner to whom the land abuts, but private land tends to be dwarfed by large owners such as the National Trust.
With so many designations why should the Isle of Wight’s geology be under threat? There are three obvious threats, coastal defense schemes, erosion, and fossil collecting. The latter two are, however, double-edged swords. Without erosion, cliff fac- es would degrade and collecting ensures finds are saved from destruction. Coastal defense schemes are largely focused on coastal towns such as Vent- nor on the south coast, and therefore have only lo- calized impact. Erosion of soft cliffs, in particular those on the southwest coast facing the prevailing wind direction, can be as much as one meter per year. This means that many SSSI’s remain in a
favorable condition. The downside to this is that dinosaur-bearing layers called plant debris beds, which are spatially restricted, can be eroded. Foot- prints when exposed become ephemeral features and are soon lost.
Underwood and Ward (2018) discussed the im- portance of site-specific factors such as the size of the site, rates of depletion of the fossils, and frequency of collecting visits, and argued that these criteria should dictate best practice for any site. Comparable to the Isle of Wight, they used Charmouth cliffs as an example of rapidly eroding coast. They concluded that the site demonstrably benefited from uncontrolled collecting. The West Dorset Fossil Collecting Code, except for Catego- ry 1 specimens which it is compulsory to record to obtain title, is voluntary. However, this code of conduct only reaches as far as recording findings, not ensuring that the most important specimens are secured for science.
On the Isle of Wight, even partial dinosaur skele- tons may emerge over many years because of the slow erosion of cliffs, and uncontrolled collecting
merely leads to the dispersal of individual animals over many collectors. At Dinosaur Isle Muse- um, we have witnessed bones from known type specimens come in for identification and finders walking away with them. The legal aspects of fossil collecting in the UK remain obscured by misinformation and a history of ‘finders’ keepers’ (see Ulph 2018). In contrast, one of the most striking examples of direct action on fossil col- lecting was the Speeton walrus skull (Dunne and Middleton 2018), where the efforts of Scarbor- ough Museum Service using land ownership se- cured the specimen’s future.
Dinosaur Isle Museum (Fig. 2) opened its doors in 2001, funded by the Millennium Commission and the Isle of Wight Council. However, the collection was founded in Newport in the 1820s. In 1913/14 this collection was brought to Sandown with the generous support of local philanthropists the Mo- rey family, who continued to fund the museum into the 1930s. Then known as the Museum of Isle of Wight Geology and it was housed above Sandown
Figure 2. Dinosaur Isle Museum, Sandown, Isle of Wight. Opened in 2002 replacing the former Museum of Isle of Wight Geology, which had been in Sandown since 1914.
Library where it remained until the current muse- um was built. Following World War Two, funding for the museum came from Sandown and Shanklin Urban District Council. However, in the 1970s the then Isle of Wight County Council took over and provided for professional appointments. There has now been 50 years of continuous professional cu- ratorial cover. For a more detailed history of the museum see Peaker and Bingham (2016) or Munt et al. 2021.
Since its beginnings, the collection has been fo- cused almost solely on the Isle of Wight and has now grown to over 30,000 specimens. The collec- tion is primarily paleontological, covering the full spectrum of the Isle’s geology, from the Early Cre- taceous Wealden Group to the Late Eocene-Early Oligocene Solent Group, with many Quaterna- ry sites also represented. The major strengths of the collection are the Cretaceous and Paleogene mollusks and ‘Wealden’ flora and fauna. Of inter- national significance are its Late Eocene insects, Eocene-Oligocene mammals, and Wealden di- nosaurs, the collection being home to many ho- lotypes. All these areas of the collection continue to grow, with new types identified annually. The dinosaur collection is now recognized as second only to the Natural History Museum (London) in significance. The same could probably be said about its Paleogene insects, mammals, and rep- tiles. However, focusing on the dinosaur theme has been essential in developing a small esoteric museum located above the local library into one of Europe’s most important dinosaur collections, in a financially viable form.
The Lyme Regis Museum, The Etches Collec- tion Kimmeridge, The Rotunda Scarborough and Whitby Museum are all located on England’s two great Jurassic coastal outcrops. Lyme Regis and Whitby museums are both general museums with a major geology component, whereas the Etches
Collection and the Rotunda are both dedicated geological museums like the Dinosaur Isle Muse- um. So how important is place? Well, the role of the local museums is to tell the story of that area, if the main story happens like the Etches Collection to be about geology, then that is the main story.
Dinosaur Isle Museum (Fig. 3) was built in Sand- own as this had become the historic home of the local geological collection. The Museum of Isle of Wight Geology came about as the town was home to its principal benefactor Frank Morey. But how else has place determined the staying power of the museum location?
Sandown as a tourism center. With many tourists staying in Sandown, the museum benefits from a captive audience. However, it’s not that simple. Weather and tides impact footfall and therefore in- come. The beach at Sandown is only available at low tide, so for part of the day is inaccessible. As an indoor attraction, the weather will determine how busy the museum is. Perhaps Sandown has never been the focus of fossil shops as at Lyme Regis, but then nowhere really has been on the Island, with fossil shops only in Sandown and Shanklin, both on the east coast and another shop at Yarmouth on the northeast coast.
Sandown and its transport infrastructure. Tourists generally fall into two categories, day trippers and staying visitors. Sandown is one of just four places on the Isle of Wight with both road and rail links. It is an easy day trip distance from much of south- ern England including London, directly from the ferry terminal at Ryde. With good road connec- tions, nowhere on the Isle is more than an hour’s drive.
Sandown and its geology. The museum is located about half a mile from the section at Yaverland, so visitors can combine their visit to the museum with one of the main geological exposures on the Isle of Wight. This is very much a part of the mu-
Figure 3. Aerial view of the north end of Sandown Bay showing the proximity of Dinosaur Isle Museum to the section at Yaverland, Isle of Wight. Courtesy of Mike Collins.
Figure 4. Tridactyl dinosaur footprint in the Wessex Formation (Wealden Group) at Yaverland, Isle of Wight. The footprint seen in 2002 measures approximately 60 cm from the heel to the tip of the central toe.
seum’s business model for schools and public en- gagement. Dinosaur footprints such as the one in Fig. 4 can be seen on the foreshore but are depen- dent on tides and beach sediment.
Museums are more than repositories; they aim to inspire their audiences through the objects they display and the stories they tell. Through this, they act as gateways to subjects and places. Visitors ask two leading questions “where can I see the dino- saur footprints?” and “where can I find dinosaur bones?” The answer is generally the same. Muse- ums can be viewed in opposite ways by members of the public: some see them positively, as reliable voices of authority that provide accurate informa- tion through knowledgeable staff, whereas collec-
tors may take a negative view, that the museum will seek to take away their valuable finds.
Anecdotally, the latter view tends to be prevalent among collectors, but rarely do any objects come in that are important enough to add to the collec- tion. Codes such as the West Dorset Fossil Col- lecting Code of Conduct and the Undercliffs Na- tional Nature Reserve Fossil Collecting Code and Recording Scheme (both accessible via https:// charmouth.org and https://www.jurassiccoast. org), encourage finders to report their discoveries to museums, providing a permanent record, even if the objects do not enter public ownership. At the time of writing, Charmouth Heritage Centre had recorded over 250 objects into the scheme.
Museums can contribute to geoconservation in two ways, firstly through providing the voice of authority on locations, such as where is and how important is that place? Secondly, through being a repository for important finds, holding refer- ence collections for the public and scientific ben- efit, and preferably locally to the benefit of local people. One of the great things about museums such as The Etches Collection, Lyme Regis Mu- seum, Charmouth Heritage Centre, and Dinosaur Isle Museum is accessibility to expertise. Staff and experienced volunteers are available to give advice on sites including safety, tides, and what can be found. Furthermore, and vitally for con- servation, they advise about hammering, protect- ing exposures, and how to get further advice and identification if someone finds a fossil specimen. In 2019 staff at Dinosaur Isle Museum provided 909 in-person object identifications, even during the pandemic year of 2022, 104 objects were iden- tified, and therefore screened for potentially im- portant finds.
So, what are the benefits of local geological mu- seums? In short, expertise, knowledge of the sites,
what can be found, and the stories these tell. When visiting an historic house or a Roman villa, local geological museums can keep objects and enable people to experience them in context. A visit to the Dinosaur Isle Museum can be followed by a walk along a beach then back to the museum for iden- tifications. The proximity of the museum to great field sites has enabled it to become what Simon (2010) termed a Participatory Museum, a muse- um that is audience-centered, relevant, and useful, in other words, a gateway to the Isle of Wight’s geological heritage. Objects, people and places seamlessly come together in a way that sustains museums such as Dinosaur Isle Museum, Char- mouth Heritage Centre, and Lyme Regis Museum, and importantly in a way that collections located far from their places of origin cannot replicate.
So, are there downsides? Hose (2016) noted that geological collections are not always valued even though they are a very significant part of our geo- heritage. Finance is inevitably a limiting factor for museums, felt more acutely at smaller region- al museums without the backing received by UK nationals (the Natural History Museum, London received £ 41.815 million in 2019/20, nhm.ac.uk/ about-us/reports-accounts). Local museums in- creasingly need to be financially viable to contin- ue. Dinosaur Isle Museum is self-funding, with support from the Isle of Wight Council, generat- ing an income of c.£400,000 per annum, which is however, tied to the fortunes of the tourist econ- omy. The museum therefore must have a strong focus on income generation.
Is there any additional impact from providing in- formation about where to go to look for fossils? It is certainly a means of directing visitors to spe- cific sites, which commercial field trip operators are doing anyway. These tend to be well-used sites such as Compton Bay, and Yaverland on the Isle of Wight, and Church Cliffs and Black Venn at Lyme Regis. Most of these sites can become very
tired-looking towards the end of summer, but that is when high rates of erosion are beneficial.
Looking to the future, museums will depend in- creasingly on volunteer help, and specimen dona- tions as professional staff deliver income gener- ating schools and public engagement programs. These activities generate wider and greater aware- ness of geodiversity but also impact on capacity to deliver collections care, collections enhancement and research. So, this impacts staff time, in our context if using freelancers to deliver public en- gagement, they also need an expert understanding of the beaches and sites. Staff will increasingly need to be not just knowledgeable, but also flex- ible and willing to work across what are seen as very different and separate roles such as curation or public engagement in larger museums.
It would be wrong to suggest that the high geo- logical interest of a place is the sole factor in de- termining where geological museums are located, and staying power is so much more than the signif- icance of the heritage. The closure of Dudley Mu- seum and Art Gallery with its important collection of fossils from the Wren’s Nest in 2016 is a testa- ment to the vulnerability of significant collections, even those such as those that are located near the fossiliferous sites. The role of fossils in local cul- ture and the local economy in the celebrated fossil localities of Lyme Regis and Whitby must be ma- jor factors in the establishment of fossil shops and guided walks. Developing the dinosaur theme has been essential in sustaining the geological collec- tion and museum on the Isle of Wight. Building geological heritage into local economy is proba- bly therefore essential to survival. Whichever way museums survive by being in these special plac- es, they can play a major role in geoconservation, through their displays, interactions with the public and local expertise. They are gateways to sites and knowledge; they are repositories of specimens and sources of inspiration for the public to discover
our special geological places and heritage.
The author is employed at the Museum which is the focus of this study.
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